microscope, Instrument that produces enlarged images of small objects, allowing them to be viewed at a scale convenient for examination and analysis. Formed by various means, the image is received by direct imaging, electronic processing, or a combination of these methods. The most familiar type of microscope is the optical, or light, microscope, in which lenses are used to form the image. Other types of microscopes use the wave nature of various physical processes, the most important being the electron microscope (see electron microscopy), which uses a beam of electrons in its image formation. Crude microscopes date to the mid-15th century, but not until 1674 were the powerful microscopes of A. van Leeuwenhoek able to detect phenomena as small as protozoans.
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